Various fire retardant compositions are known. Certain of these can be in a form of an intumescent coating, which may be a paint. A highly effective fire retardant intumescent latex paint is commercially available from No-Burn, Inc., Wadsworth, Ohio as NO-BURN® PLUS product. This can be employed, for example, in residential and commercial structures including homes to provide fire resistant properties to the structure. Compare, patent application Pub. Nos. US 2005/0138888 A1 and US 2005/0022466 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,875 (Form #2 Agent). Note, patent application Pub. No. US 2006/0167131 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,482,385 B2.
Generally, intumescent fire retardant products, particularly those which employ a fire retardant ingredient such as an ammonium phosphate, say, in a form of a coating, for example, a latex paint, when suitably applied and dried on a flammable substrate, for example, wood, intumesce at a temperature suitable for retarding the spread of a fire but above a temperature at which intumescence would occur where there is no fire, for example, in a confined attic space. Such a temperature may be about 204.4° C. (400° F.).
Modern construction materials include foams, for instance, closed cell foams made from organic polymers such as polystyrene, polyurethane, and so forth. Making such materials fire retardant is, of course, a concern. Some have some fire retardant capacity from added intrinsic ingredients such as organic phosphorus flame retardant compositions. That capacity may not be enough to satisfy the demands of the modern community, and so, sometimes an intumescent fire retardant coating product is applied to such a foam. Adequate or expected fire retardant capability, however, does not necessarily, and often does not, follow.
Also, GRAFGUARD® expandable graphite flake commercially available from GrafTech International, Lakewood, Ohio is an intumescent material that may be considered for use as a fire retardant additive in certain plastics, foams, putties and coatings. According to trade literature, one of the grades of GRAFGUARD® expandable graphite flake is reported to have an onset temperature of 160° C. (320° F.) and be typically used in intumescent putties, sealants and mats, or fire retardant foams for building insulation and transportation seating. Compare, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,404,061; 5,176,863 and 5,443,894; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,460,310 B1 and 6,669,919 B1.
Still, formulation and compatibility of ingredients may not always be straightforward.
It would be desirable to improve the art. It would be desirable to ameliorate if not solve one or more of the problems in the art. It would be desirable to provide an alternative to the art.